Player vs Player
by Mystrothedefender
Summary: Prumano. Side story to my GerIta fic Fame!... You should probably read that first. The pair are perfectly happy gaming together, but unexpected feelings will inevitably arise.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi, I know this chapter's a little bare but believe me I've got a good plan. **

**This story goes along with my story Fame! starting somewhere after chapter 9.**

It had been almost a week since Gilbert and Romano had had their first gaming session, Gilbert had added Romano onto his friends list the following day, and they'd played every evening since.

In the evening Ludwig would lock himself in his room by himself to 'talk' to Feliciano on his computer, leaving Gilbert alone in their large livingroom.

The pair had taken to playing on the PS3 as Gilbert didn't have a PS4 yet, Romano didn't mind playing on it but it meant he had to change the hdmi input, and he always seemed eager to voice his displeasure about it to Gilbert when he got the chance.

Gilbert lounged on the cream sofa, nattering to the Italian over the headset and laughing at his own jokes.

"Gilbert you know I can't understand that German bullshit, when you insult me do it in Italian you bastard."

Gilbert blew a raspberry into the mic, "That's the same in every language," he shouted as he killed Romano yet again, "Come on Lovi I thought you said you were pro at this."

"I am!" Romano screamed, "You're cheating you fucking bastard!"

Gilbert chuckled softly, smiling widely, "Yeah sure I am… God you're a loser."

"I'm not a loser!"

"Then why are you losing?!"

"Because you are cheating!"

Gilbert fell into laughter as the round ended, shaking his head as he read out their score, he'd won by 5 kills, the gap between them was slowly closing.

Romano was silent the other end, Gilbert had guessed he's muted his mic for some reason, when he heard him again he let out a sigh through his teeth.

"You're getting better," Gilbert offered him, "You're good for someone who's only played by himself before."

"I thought you were going to brag about being a god again," Romano growled.

Gilbert shrugged, "Well I can't keep playing that card can I, it'll get boring."

Romano scoffed, "Sure..."

Gilbert stretched as they waited for the next game to load, kicking his socks off and balling them up, throwing them through to the laundry room. He couldn't stop smiling when he played with Romano, he was so entertaining, he didn't get angry in the same way the other guys he played with did, his anger made him better, and you could hear the colour of his face in his words.

"…So how's your brother?" Gil asked after a moment, the server still loading.

"Why the fuck do you care?" Romano said briefly.

Gilbert frowned, "I was just asking. It's polite right?"

Romano let out another sigh after a moment, seeming distracted, "I always get people asking after my brother, no one ever cares how I fucking am."

Gilbert's frown deepened, he turned on the sofa to sit up fully, "Well ok. How are _you_ Lovi?"

There was silence down the line, Gilbert thought that the mic had been silenced again, after a moment he heard a soft moan through his speaker, "I'm ok I suppose."

"What that's it?" Gilbert whined, "You make a big thing and you answer like that?"

He chuckled to himself, shaking his head, Romano was such a drama queen, it was entertaining. He sighed softly, looking at the screen, this was a relatively old game but he was having so much fun he didn't want to stop playing.

"Fine…" Romano scoffed, "I'm ok, nothing good or bad happened to me today so I'm just ok. That good enough for you?"

"Yep," Gilbert said happily, "Or good enough, you'll get better," he chuckled.

Romano scoffed, "Shut up Gilbert, you laugh too much it's annoying as fuck." He swallowed hard, the noise audible through the speaker, "Do you want to keep playing? I think the server's fucked up."

Gilbert nodded, "Alright… I kind of want to keep talking though."

"Do you have a facebook?" Romano asked slowly, part of him thinking it might be a little forward.

Gilbert nodded, smiling, "Sure. Gilbert Beilschmidt, I'm the only one on there."

Gilbert jolted slightly as his phone buzzed, he went to mention it to Romano, but found he'd already disconnected. He looked at his phone and found it was a friend request from Romano.

It was so nice to have a friend be so forward with him, usually his gamer friends were so reluctant to get in contact on other sites.

He added the Italian boy, looking through his information. He hadn't realised that he was older than Romano but apparently he was by almost 4 years. He found himself looking through the photos, most of them were of Romano looking solemn next to Feliciano looking ecstatic.

Gilbert chuckled to himself, pulling up the message tab and sending Romano 'Hey dude!'

'I'm looking through your photos', Romano replied, 'You look like a dork' he sent him a link to a photo of Ludwig's last birthday party, Gilbert drinking with his tie tied around his head, 'Dork' Romano put under the photo.

'Shut up at least I don't look like a wannabe emo' Gilbert retorted, chuckling to himself.

Gilbert continued looking through the photos, coming across one he rather liked; Romano sitting in an old armchair in an old house, smiling at the camera. He sent it to Romano, 'You look cute here though'.

He frowned to himself, he didn't mean it to sound like that, damn he'd made things awkward … 'Rather than a dumb emo kid I mean'.

'Feli took that', Romano answered, 'Yeah I guess it's ok.'

There was silence between them for a while during which time Gilbert got up, going to the modern-build kitchen and starting on dinner. He laughed to himself as he looked down at his phone, noticing that Romano's profile picture had changed to the one Gilbert had just sent him.

**I hope you enjoyed it please leave a review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hi! I'm sorry this took me so long to write, I'm kinda busy nowadays so I won't be uploading as regularly.**

Gilbert loved his job, he worked as a mechanic on the edge of his city. The garage was a tiny independently owned place with only enough space to work on two cars and store three. The owner, Berwald Oxenstierna, was a lovely foreign man, he'd lived in the country for 15 years and Gilbert had known him for 10. Gilbert had been the one to suggest going into business together, but Berwald somehow ended up as the boss. He didn't know how that'd happened but it meant he didn't have to do all the paperwork so who cared.

"Hey," he smiled as he walked into their shoebox of an office, taking a folder from their desk, "I'm working on Mrs Morger's car today, right?"

Berwald nodded, "Be done by three, she needs ready it for her holiday."

"Lucky," Gilbert smirked, "I wish I could go on holiday…"

"You went on holiday three weeks ago," Berwald frowned, "I haven't been on holiday in a year."

Gilbert rolled his eyes, "You can take off any time you want, I know how to run the place, I'd be fine for a week, my brother could help me out, he needs to get out of the house."

"Just go and work on Mrs Morger's car…"

He shrugged, smiling, "Fine, just stop moaning that you can't get a holiday when you _can, _you just don't want to admit that you'd be bored and lonely."

The taller man turned his head to glare at him, Gilbert held up his hands in mock surrender, taking the file and walking from the room.

Gilbert walked through to the hoisted car and began to work on it, it wouldn't take long, he pulled out his phone to put on some music, deciding to take a moment to check facebook, smiling when he saw Romano was online.

He wasn't usually on this early, he didn't go on social networking sites while he was working.

What if something was wrong? Or he was ill or something?

Gilbert pulled up a conversation, smiling as he typed, '_Hey?' _

The man didn't answer, there was a chance that he'd left himself logged on or something but it was unlikely. '_Lovi it says you're online, you can't fool me.'_

This time Romano answered, 'Don't call me Lovi.'

Gilbert felt a smile fill his face at the sight of his reply, quickly typing back, _'I always call you Lovi.'_

_'_Well fucking stop.'

'_It's your name isn't it…?'_

Gilbert glanced up, walking into one of the corners of the room and pretending to look through his tools, '_Lovi, answer me!'_

'If I answer will you shut up so I can work?'

_'Yes?'_

'Just watch this you idiot.'

Gilbert clicked the link, letting the video fill the screen of his phone, he glanced up to make sure Berwald couldn't see him slacking off. He didn't mind Gilbert typing on his phone but watching videos seemed to be a different matter.

Romano was sitting opposite an older woman, Gilbert didn't recognise her so he guessed it must be from an Italian channel because he didn't recognise the hostess. He frowned when they started speaking Italian, focussing so he could understand.

"I understand your full name is Romano Lovino Vargas," the woman started, Romano giving a soft nod, "But some of your fans have taken to just calling you Lovino, or Lovi, how did that come about? What's your reaction to it?"

Romano let out a small huff, "It ****** me off. I am named Romano after my grandfather, and he was still alive when I was young, so to tell us two apart my family called me by my middle name, my ******* brother still does." He frowned softly, "It ******* annoys me when fans do it though, it's a family thing, _they_ shouldn't ******* call me Lovi, to them my name should be Romano-"

Gilbert paused the video to laugh, amused that they'd had to bleep out so much.

…Obviously it was a sensitive subject.

He pulled facebook up again, writing another message to Romano, '_If it's a family thing I'll just have to wait until my brother marries yours_.'

He knew that would get a rise out of the other man, he seemed perfectly fine that the two younger men were in a relationship, but any mention of a future together seemed to annoy him.

'Shut up' Romano replied, 'The day I let you call me Lovi will be the day I go to hell.'

'_But Lovino is such a nice name…_'

'You are not my family.'

Gilbert rolled his eyes and let out a small huff, '_Would you be this rude to me if I were a fan..?'_

Romano didn't answer sending another video link instead. The title for the video was 'Italian star attacks fan', that alone told Gilbert all he needed to know, but he watched it anyway.

He watched as a teenage girl ran up to Romano, screaming 'Lovi' and attempted to tackle him into a hug, Romano letting out a scream in reply and throwing her off of him, yelling loud Italian profanities too fast for Gilbert to be able to translate.

He let out a soft huff, shaking his head as he move back to facebook, sending Romano '_Holy shit.'_

_'Now I see why parents think you're a bad influence.'_

After a few moments Romano replied, Gilbert could almost hear him saying the words as he read them 'The parents are idiots, they raise disrespectful bastards of children who try every day to invade mine and Feli's life, I hate them for that. I just want to do what I love without being judged all the time. They don't even fucking know me! They only know what I want them to know, but that's not enough for them. If someone else did the shit that my fans do to me they'd get a restraining order put of them.'

Gilbert swallowed hard, biting his lip, an odd sense of guilt washing over him, he wasn't sure how to reply to that.

Romano sent another message, seeming to sense Gilbert's unspoken discomfort, 'But whatever. They're all stupid teenage girls so who cares.'

Gilbert chuckled softly, '_If I were you I'd end up taking advantage of some of them ;)'_

'Gil no, they're like 15…' Gilbert rolled his eyes, Romano should have known he was joking, he was part way through writing a reply when Romano sent another message that made him pause. 'I don't really _like_ girls anyway.'

Gilbert bit his lip, letting out a small breath before he replied, '_…Me either, honestly, I mean they're ok, I like guys more though I think.'_

He could feel himself starting to shake, he'd never actually come out to anyone before. He'd talked about having crushes on guys or girls, and he'd dated both boys and girls when he was a little younger, but he'd never gone out of his way to tell anyone about his sexuality.

He felt a small knot grow in his stomach as Romano sent a message, 'So are you gay or something?'

_'No,_' Gilbert forced himself to write, '_I'm bisexual, I like guys and girls.'_

He chewed his lip as he waited for Romano to write back.

'Oh, that's a real thing?'

Gilbert chuckled and shook his head, it astonished him how many people were ignorant to bisexuality. '_Yes. What about you?'_

There was a few moments pause before Romano began to write again, and rather than sending the explanation of his sexuality as Gilbert had expected, he sent 'I have to go, Feliciano needs something.'

A second later the green online button by Romano's name turned clear. Gilbert let out a huff, rolling his eyes again and giving his head a small shake.

Of course it'd be hard for Romano to admit, Gilbert knew he wasn't out to anyone, not even Feliciano according to what Ludwig had said. But they'd been friends for months now, Gilbert thought he trusted him enough.

He jumped slightly as the door on the other side of the workroom opened and Berwald walked in. Gilbert quickly stowed his phone in his pocket and picked up his tools, walking back to the car.

"Hi Berwald," he chimed.

The older man frowned at him, "You know I can see you from the office, we have surveillance cameras."

Gilbert felt himself blush, "Oh," he said, instinctively looking up to search for the cameras. "Sorry."

"Get back to work…"

**Please leave a review.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hi! I hope you enjoy the new chapter.**

Romano exhaled deeply as he pushed his chair back from the computer, running his hands through his hair and shaking his head, swallowing hard. He got to his feet, shaking his head again and walking through the house to find his brother; he'd lied to Gilbert about Feliciano needing him, and that was enough to make him feel guilty, now he felt as if he should go and help Feliciano, or talk to him at least.

"Feli?" he asked as he walked downstairs, looking through the rooms. Where could he have gone? He never went out without telling him.

He let out a small angry huff as he looked into the garden, seeing Feliciano laying naked on the sunlounger.

He pulled open the door, frowning angrily, "Feliciano!" he screamed, "Get in the house how! You can't be outside like that! How are you not freezing?"

He growled, watching Feliciano pack up his stuff and walk towards the house, the boy wasn't even _trying_ to cover himself. Someone would see him!

"Lovi," Feliciano cooed, "No one can see me, there are trees all around the garden."

Romano scoffed, slapping his brother on the back as he walked in, "Get some fucking clothes on."

Feliciano whined, "Romano, I like sunbathing."

"I don't want people seeing your, you know, your _problem_. The last thing I want is a media hype about your dick."

Feliciano looked down at himself, "There's nothing wrong with me, Lovi…"

He chewed his lip, letting out a small breath, "…No, of course not. Just, go and get dressed ok?"

The boy nodded listlessly and began to walk up the stairs. Romano shook his head and went into the kitchen to make himself some coffee.

He huffed as he turned on the machine, leaning against the counter and pulling his phone out of his pocket. Part of him wanted to talk to Gilbert again, but he couldn't, not after he'd blown him off like that. He didn't even know why he'd done it, it would have been so easy just to lie and say he was straight… But he didn't want to lie to him.

Sexuality was a touchy subject for him, he couldn't think about it for too long without shaking through anxiety.

His upbringing had been a lot more religion based than Feliciano's. When their grandfather, who had been the one enforcing the family's religious views, had passed away, the rest of the family had become more laid back.

Romano had been 12 when he died, Feliciano only 7, so the 'oppressive' views had been more engrained in him.

Feliciano seemed perfectly happy exploring his own sexuality, but Romano simply couldn't bring himself to do the same, he'd not been able to do anything more than watch the first few minutes of a porno.

Even then when he felt himself becoming aroused he'd feel so much guilt he'd end up going to bed in tears.

He wished he had the courage his brother and Gilbert had. He knew he was gay but he just couldn't say it, he could say it to himself without feeling his stomach twist and clench painfully.

He could feel himself getting upset even now. It was getting so frustrating, he just wanted to live his life, he didn't want to feel like this anymore, he didn't want to lie to his friends or family anymore, or to himself.

"I am gay," he whispered to himself under his breath, his eyes clenched shut and his nails digging into the counter. He felt a small shaky breath leave him after he'd said the words, tears pricking his eyes, he blinked rapidly and shook his head, cursing himself.

He'd said it though, for the first time in his life he'd said it. He smiled triumphantly and sipped his coffee, trying to stop himself shaking.

"Are you ok Lovi?" Came Feliciano's voice from the doorframe. Romano looked over, seeing the boy now fully dressed.

He wiped his eyes quickly, the smile on his face quickly morphing into a frown, "Of course I am," he huffed, "You know you shouldn't sneak up on people, it's fucking rude."

The younger boy nodded, smiling weakly, he swallowed hard, rubbing his arm to comfort himself, he looked Romano up and down. "I love you, Romano," he said weakly.

Romano scoffed and shook his head, "Oh shut up Feli…" he turned back to the counter, his frown softening, "Do you want some coffee?" he asked, trying to sound sure of himself.

Feliciano nodded behind him, "Yeah ok."

Romano kept his back turned to his brother, pouring out another cup of coffee, begging himself to stop shaking, hoping against hope that he wouldn't start crying. He wanted Feliciano to leave the room…

He felt his brother's arms wrap around him, the boy pressing his face into his back. "Romano, you don't have to be worried or upset, ok?"

Romano paused for a moment, feeling a lump build in his throat, before he turned and pushed his brother off of him, "Get off me Feliciano, there's nothing fucking wrong just leave me alone."

Feliciano stepped back, a hurt look on his face, he glance down at the floor before reaching out to take the black coffee from the counter and leaving the room silently.

Romano let out a small breath, watching as he left. He didn't need to act like that, Romano knew it was ok for him to be gay, he knew Feliciano wouldn't care. He didn't want it to be a big thing to anyone but himself.

How could he listen in on something so private?

Though, that said, Feliciano was only trying to make him feel less anxious about it, maybe it was wrong for him to have snapped…?

Romano let out a huff and shook his head, he took a packet of biscotti from the side and picked up his own cup of coffee, walking through to the living room, where Feliciano was sat on the sofa.

He opened the packet of biscuits and held it out, Feliciano looking up at him sad eyed before taking one.

Romano sat down silently, sipping his coffee and taking a biscotti for himself.

"…Are you going to tell other people?" Feliciano said after a moment, "Are you going to tell Gilbert?"

Romano frowned, "Why would I care if Gilbert knows, he's just a friend, don't be so stupid." He glanced between Feliciano and his coffee cup, letting out a small breath, "I guess. I don't know," he said dismissively, "If anyone asks I'm not going to deny it."

Feliciano nodded, "Ok…" he smiled softly, "I won't tell anyone if you don't want me to."

Romano shrugged, "I don't mind, just don't start shouting it from the roof tops." Romano felt himself calm a little as Feliciano let out a small chuckle. His insides still felt tight, as if he were doing something wrong even though he knew it wasn't.

"…How do you do it Feli," he mumbled after a moment, "How do you act so freely, doesn't it feel weird to you?"

Feliciano frowned and shook his head, crossing his legs on the sofa and taking a bite of his biscotti, "I'm just being me, Romano… There's nothing wrong with being true to yourself."

The older boy could feel his face growing hot, he let out a soft breath, staring down at his coffee, he'd told himself that before, but hearing it from someone else's mouth felt so different.

He could feel Feliciano smiling at him, god he hated when he did that.

"Thanks," Romano said quietly, turning to finish his coffee.

He let out a small huff as he tried to occupy himself with his own thoughts, and he found himself thinking of Gilbert again.

He wouldn't lie to him. He'd already fobbed him off once, but it didn't seem like something that should be admitted over the internet. He glanced over at Feliciano, he was meant to be taking the boy to meet his boyfriend in a few weeks, he could hold off Gilbert's inquisitive questions until then he was sure. He wanted to tell him in person.

**Please leave a review!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey so it's been like a year since i uploaded anythign for this isnt that interesting and not at all annoying haha... Yeah... sorry... I do not remember the plan I had for this story at all.**

Romano watched as Feliciano ascended the small set of stairs to Ludwig and Gilbert's house, trying to keep the uncharacteristic smile off his face. He had the day planned out, he'd get himself comfortable and play games with Gil for a bit, maybe get a little drunk, then once he was comfortable enough he'd have a heart to heart with Gilbert about how he… 'was'.

He crossed his arms as he watched the young couple faun over each other, "Where's your brother?" he said bluntly, looking Ludwig up and down.

"He's in the livingroom," Ludwig said, obviously not wanting to be distracted from Feliciano's presence, "Setting up the game system."

Romano nodded and pushed past them, their display was almost sickening, he shook his head as he found his way to the livingroom.

It was a small house so it wasn't hard to find. They didn't even have a separate dining room. He walked into the small livingroom and looked about, the place was immaculately clean, it had a minimalist feel to it, unlike Romano's house which was filled with their family's heirlooms and antiques. And everything looked new, 2 years old at the most.

"Romano, Hallo wie gehts?" Gilbert said quickly at the sight of him, pulling off his headset and shifting on the sofa to look at him.

Romano frowned, "I don't speak German," he said bluntly, crossing his arms again.

Gilbert snorted and blushed, "Shit, sorry," he chuckled, clearing his throat as he adjusted to speaking Italian. "I'm not used to it," he smiled as he got to his feet, "It's great to actually see you, how're you?"

Romano shrugged, smiling still but trying to downplay it, "I'm good."

"I bet you've been looking forward to tonight," Gilbert smirked, "I thought we'd have some proper food before we start drinking and eating junk," he stretched his arms out and cracked his knuckles, "But you know you're gunna get your arse beat right?"

Romano huffed, disregarding the soft blush that threatened his face, "Yeah fucking right. I'm going to win this time."

Gil chuckled, "Yeah I bet you've been practicing all week in the hope you might win _one_ game against me."

The Italian rolled his eyes, "Shut the fuck up. And I'm not letting you make me pasta, I've seen what you people do to your food and it's fucking gross, I'm making it, show me where all your stuff is."

"What? Nothing we do is gross Romano," Gil shook his head, "But whatever, less work for me. I'll show you where everything is and then I guess I'll go an ask the kids if they want any while you start on the food."

He led the other man into the kitchen and showed him where everything was. Smiling as he watched Romano busy himself, "You just rummage around if there's anything else you need, I'm gunna go upstairs."

"Alright," Romano said, he picked up the pot of sauce Gilbert had given him and frowned at the ingredients, he opened it and sniffed it, shaking his head, "What is this bullshit..?"

After rummaging through a few of the cupboards he had what he needed to make the sauce a little more palatable. He began cooking, pausing and rolling his eyes as he heard Gilbert shout from upstairs. "I can't hear you, dumbass," he mumbled to himself, knowing that shouting up to him would accomplish nothing.

"Almost done?" Gilbert asked as he came back into the kitchen.

"It's been 2 minutes Gilbert do you think I'm almost done?" Romano shook his head. "What was it you were shouting about anyway? I couldn't hear you."

"Oh," Gilbert smiled, "Your brother, he's adorable, he called me 'Mr Beilschmidt'. He's what, 17? And he's calling me 'Mr Beilschmidt'."

"He's 19, actually," Romano corrected him, "He's just polite, he wants you to like him."

Gil raised an eyebrow, "He's 19? He looks like a child."

Romano huffed, "Yeah and Ludwig looks like he's in his 20's."

"He's 17, he does not look like he's in his 20's."

Romano frowned, looking Gilbert up and down, "Wait, so he's 17, and you're 5 years older than him, so you're only 22?"

Gilbert nodded slowly, "Yeah..? Why, how old are you?"

"25."

Gilbert's eyes widened, "No fucking way," he chuckled, "You've got a serious case of baby face. I kinda assumed you were younger than me."

Romano shook his head.

"That… That doesn't make it awkward does it?"

Romano scoffed, "No, don't be stupid, so what if you're a few years younger than me, we're just friends why would it be awkward?"

Gil shrugged, "I dunno, it just kinda feels like that would make it awkward." He cleared his throat, his eyes moving to the pot of pasta on the hob. "How much longer is the food gunna be?"

The Italian man's eyes widened a little and he span to the stove, opening the lid and stirring the pasta, he face changing a little as he unstuck a few pieces from the bottom of the pot. "Just a couple of minutes… I almost fucking burnt it, you keep distracting me…"

"That's what I'm here for," Gilbert said with a smirk. His smile widened, "Oh yeah, I got a ton of alcohol in for us tonight, all kinds of snacks and stuff, it's gunna be a great night."

Romano nodded, smiling again as he thought of his plan, he exhaled slowly to calm his nerves, he'd been dreading telling Gilbert for days but now the time was getting closer he was actually kind of excited. He turned off the heat and stirred the pasta again, "I think it's done," he said quietly. He took a step back and began to let Gilbert plate up the food.

Feliciano and Ludwig came downstairs briefly to collect their food, taking the plates upstairs and shutting themselves away. Romano frowned as they left, the thought of what they were doing making him shudder.

Perhaps he wasn't hungry after all.

Gilbert chuckled softly at the look on the Italian's face, "Oh my god Lovi," he said mockingly, "Your little brother and his boyfriend are alone together, for an entire night, in a room with a _bed_. How horrifying."

"Shut the fuck up," he growled, walking to sit down in the sofa, his plate of food resting on the arm of the chair.

"Why does it make you so uncomfortable?" Gilbert asked, the mocking tone gone from his voice, "I mean, Feli is older than Lud. It should be me who's weirded out but I'm fine with it."

Romano shook his head, "I don't know… I-it just…" he huffed, "I'm not homophobic, I swear, but the thought of doing that with someone makes me uncomfortable, the mechanics of it I mean."

Gilbert smirked, "That sounds a little homophobic Lovi…"

"No I," he huffed, closing his eyes for a moment, "Gilbert, I-I…"

He hadn't planned to tell him this early in the night, as he tried to gather the strength to say it, he felt a lump form in his throat.

"I am gay, Gilbert… I-I… Feliciano's the only other person who knows and I feel so bad about it, I hate myself because of it and I can't help hating what he's-" he looked up towards Ludwig's room, letting out a slow exhale and closing his eyes. He hadn't expected to say so much but once he'd started talking he hadn't been able to stop. "Fuck…" he growled, balling his hands and pressing them to his eyes.

Gilbert smirked, straightening up in his seat, "So you're a homophobic gay guy? How did that happen?"

Romano shook his head, "I was raised in a very religious household. I didn't mean for this to happen."

"It's ok," Gilbert said, letting out a chuckle, "It's ok, you'll get over it eventually and you'll be taking cock as much as any other gay guy."

A small whine left Romano's lips, he shook his head, cringing, "No, I don't think I'm ever going to be ok with that, it's so disgusting, I don't want to do that ever."

"I'm sure you'll get over that eventually."

"No," Romano shook his head, "I won't, it's so horrible, I'm not putting my _thing_ anywhere near _there_ and no one is putting their_ thing_ anywhere near mine, no way. You can get all kinds of illnesses and it just looks so uncomfortable," he shook his head, "No. Fucking, no."

Gilbert chuckled softly, "It feels so good though Lovi, you don't know what you're missing."

Romano frowned, "Shut the fuck up, and I told you don't fucking call me Lovi."

"Ok, ok, mein gott," he chuckled softly. "…I can tell it's hard for you to talk about." He paused for a moment, "Why isn't Feliciano like this?"

"Uh," Romano shifted on his seat, finally picking up his food, beginning to play with it to distract him. "Our grandfather was a big influence on me, he died before he could screw Feli up as much as he screwed me up." He shook his head, "Feli only remembers the good bits, how good he was at art and his stories and stuff, he talks about him like he was perfect… He was really religious, the way he talked about gay people," he shook his head again, his voice growing quieter, "You'd think they were rabid dogs."

He waited for Gilbert to respond, swallowing hard and looking down at his food, unwilling to eat any of it now.

"Wow," Gilbert said after a moment, "That sounds hard…"

Romano glanced up at him, noticing the uneasy tone in his voice, "I've fucking ruined everything now haven't I? I've said too much and freaked you out."

The man shook his head, "No, no. Well, I mean. I was kinda expecting tonight to be fun and junk, I wasn't expecting this. But I'm your friend Lovi, We've been talking every day for months, you really think I'm gunna fuck off after you tell me something like that?"

Romano shrugged, forcing himself to begin eating his food, "… I don't fucking know do I?"

"I'm not," Gilbert stated firmly. He moved his foot to nudge Romano's leg, "I'm not that much of a bitch. You're alright." He pulled his foot away, smiling widely, "Hurry up and finish your food, I'll get the drinks and we can start playing."

**please leave a review**


	5. Chapter 5

**I have spare time so this is what I'm focusing on**

Romano frowned and groaned softly, lounging back on the seat of the tour bus and closing his eyes, throwing his controller down on the seat beside him. "Fucking hell."

Feliciano looked up from his phone, a similarly pained look on his face, "Lovino, you can't expect good wifi wherever we go…"

"I was fucking winning," Romano screeched, letting out an annoyed roar like moan as he got to his feet, "That is bullshit, I fucking hate this, I was fucking winning."

As he crossed the room, shouting and swearing, he didn't notice his brother flinching, he got a drink out of the minifridge and downed it.

"Lovino calm down, it's just a game."

Romano huffed, "Yeah but it's the only time Gil can play today."

Feliciano smiled softly, chuckling and swaying on his seat, "You can still text him and stuff."

Romano frowned, "…I don't want him to think I'm needy or something."

His frown deepened as his brother let out another small laugh, he turned his head, "Shut up Feli, don't fucking laugh at me."

"I'm not!" Feliciano tried to reassure him, "I just think it's cute that you worry so much about what he thinks about you."

Romano huffed and shook his head, he opened his mouth to yell but was cut off by his phone buzzing on the sofa, he looked down at it, his frown fading quickly at the sight of Gilbert's name on the screen.

"Well it looks like Gil doesn't care about looking needy," Feliciano smirked as Romano picked up the phone.

"Shut up," Romano snapped as he answered, pressing the phone to his ear.

_"I didn't say anything yet_," Gil's voice rang down the phone, sounding somewhat alarmed.

"No not you, you dumbass, fuck…" he shook his head.

"_Oh, ok then, so uh…" _Gil cleared his throat, "_You dropped out, did something happen?"_

Romano shook his head, "No not really, there's just shitty wifi in this area."

"_Oh ok… Well can you talk on the phone?"_

"Yeah sure," he glanced down at Feli, "Uh, let me just find somewhere quieter."

He walked into one of the small bedrooms, sitting on the narrow bed and leaning against the wall, the phone pressed to his ear. "So uh," he lifted his legs up on the bed, smoothing the sheets down, "I don't remember what we were talking about."

Gilbert huffed down the phone, the sound of movement in the background. "_Me either, actually. Uh…"_

The two shared a moment of silence, it didn't feel awkward though. Romano smiled to himself, playing with the elastic of his sock.

"Oh yeah, um, you said you took Lud to the doctor's this morning?"

Gilbert gasped softly, _"Yes, I did. Uh, he's on new meds, the old ones weren't really helping, he had more energy but that was it. That's meant to happen but it's meant to get better after a few weeks, but it just kinda didn't…"_ Romano heard the man sigh, obvious sadness in his voice, "_I'm worried about him."_

"Yeah I would be too if it was Feli."

"_No it's not just the depression. Well it's part of it but I… He goes out for runs, the doctor told him to, but he goes too hard on himself. He runs until it hurts him and then he comes back and sleeps for 5 hours. That's not how it's meant to happen. It's meant to be gentle... I tried talking to him but he doesn't seem to care."_

Romano chewed his lip, not really sure if he could say anything to help.

"_I wish we could just play our game. I don't like talking to you about this stuff... I need a distraction_."

Romano frowned, "What you don't think I can handle it? I've been through some shit too Gilbert I can handle whatever you want to talk to me about. I want you to talk to me about it."

"_No, no_," Gilbert rushed, trying to reassure him, "_I don't mean it like that, I mean I need a distraction, I spend all day thinking about this stuff and I just don't want to think about it anymore."_

Romano frowned to himself, he hadn't meant to make Gil feel bad or anything, he just wanted him to know that he was ok with talking to him about stuff that bothered him. Playing games together was all well and good but how could he sit back and let his friend torture himself over something like this?

He just wanted him to feel better.

"_You still there? Look, I don't want to upset you Lovi, I…" _he sighed heavily down the phone, "_I'm sorry alright?_"

Romano shook his head absently, "I'm not upset. I just want you to," he shrugged, "To feel comfortable talking to me. You're my friend Gilbert."

When Gilbert responded Romano could hear a smile in his voice. "_You don't tell me anything. All you do is talk about how great your life is and bitch about people."_

Romano huffed, "How do I not tell you anything? The last time I saw you I told you I was-," he shook his head, "Th-that's the most personal thing I could tell anyone Gilbert. You fucking moron, how could you say that?"

He pressed the phone to his ear, he thought he could hear Gilbert breathing but he wasn't sure, maybe they'd got cut off..?

"_Gaming with you is really nice for me," _Gilbert said after a while, "_It feels different, you're the only person I play with who I don't get bored of after 10 minutes, you're really awesome Lovi…"_

Lovino felt himself blush, he rocked where he sat, smiling to himself.

Gilbert chuckled, "_Can I rephrase that so it doesn't sound so gay?…You're in my skill set I meant, I…"_

"Yeah I got what you meant, idiot," he said, trying not to let his smile affect his voice.

"_But um…" _Gilbert let out another small chuckle, he sounded almost flustered. "_I think Lud is looking forward to seeing Feli again."_

Romano nodded, "I don't see why he wouldn't," he huffed, "They better not be as fucking loud as last time though, it was so gross…"

"_Yeah it was pretty disgusting, but we'll be at your house next time wont we? So it's bigger so the sound wont travel so well."_

Romano sighed, lying own on the bed, "Yeah I guess, kind of takes some of the fun out of us gaming if we can hear it."

Gilbert gasped suddenly and loudly down the phone.

"What?" Romano asked quickly, his eyes widening slightly, "What happened?"

_"I forgot to tell you, Lovi, I preordered the new Halo game, the special edition, I might get it early."_

Romano's mouth fell open, "Really? That's so awesome Gilbert. I thought it was only out on next gen?"

He heard Gilbert chuckle weakly, _"Uh, it kinda is… I'm hoping it'll come before we next meet up so I can bring it over."_

Romano huffed, "Look at you, using me for my money already."

Gilbert scoffed, "_Don't be a dick, I'm not using you for your money, I'm using you for your gaming console, there's a difference."_

"I bought the console with my money, there's no difference."

"_Well shit, if you say so_." Gilbert let out a soft laugh, "_I kinda need a sugar daddy anyway, how else am I going to pay for my college or my gaming addiction_?"

Romano cocked his head a little, "You want to go to college?" he asked, choosing to ignore the rest of the sentence.

"_Well…"_ Gil let out a weird noise, "_Maybe, I dunno. I don't really have the time or the money really_."

"Oh," Romano said, glancing down at the floor, "Yeah ok. Feli can't have proper schooling because we have no time either."

He jumped at a knock at the door, his heart jumping into his throat as if he'd just been interrupted doing something unsavoury.

"What?!" he yelled, taking the phone from his ear for a moment.

"The wifi's back!" Feli said happily from the other side of the door.

"Oh," Romano smiled, he put the phone back to his ear, "Want to go back to our game?" he asked Gilbert, a smile on his face.

"_Oh great_," Gilbert said happily, "_Sure Lovi_."

"Ok…" Romano bit his lip, reluctant to hang up the phone. He could still hear Gilbert on the other end of the line. "Uh… I'll talk to you in a second then?" he said tentatively.

"_Yeah."_

**Hope you enjoyed, please leave a review**


	6. Chapter 6

**hey again!**

Romano let out a small breath as he finished polishing the banisters, pausing for a moment and squirming at how uncomfortable he felt: He'd been cleaning all morning and he'd worked up one hell of a sweat. He'd not even had his morning shower yet and Gilbert was due to arrive in just under an hour.

He panted softly as he walked towards the bathroom, peeking his head in on Feli's room to make sure he was almost ready before continuing on, undressing himself and getting into the shower, hissing softly at the feel of the hot water.

It was going to be so nice seeing Gilbert again, this time it was just going to be them gaming and drinking, having a generally nice time. Lovino didn't have any big bombshell to drop on him, it was going to be a lovely relaxing night, just the two of them on the sofa together, like the rest of the world didn't matter.

As nice as it was playing with him over the internet, it didn't feel quite as good, as fun. Real life was more… real.

He let out a small sigh, his eyes closed as he let the water flow over his face and down his body as he washed himself, his eyes snapped open as his hand brushed his crotch and he realised he-

"Fuck," he said loudly, "What the fuck..? Get down you… Shit." he growled, closing his eyes again and wishing his erection away. He hadn't even been thinking of anything erotic, just of playing games with Gilbert.

He didn't even like Gilbert that much, he was a friend, one of his first proper friends, he couldn't do this, he couldn't have these feelings. Fuck.

He leant forward and rested his head against the tiles, letting out a soft annoyed groan, his eyes opening again at a knock on the door.

"What?" he yelled, still pressing his head hard against the tile.

"I heard yelling," Feli's voice came from outside. "You didn't slip or anything did you?"

Romano huffed, lifting his head again, he looked down at his crotch, violently gesturing at it, wishing it would go away.

"Lovino?" Feli said through the door again, "I won't laugh if you have."

"No, I haven't," he snapped, "I'm showering Feli, go away."

He heard the younger man talking though he couldn't make out what he said, he stayed still till he was sure he'd gone and looked down at himself again, letting out a small sigh of relief as he realised he'd gone flaccid again.

"Thank god," he said to himself, "If you do that later I swear to god I will cut you off."

The last thing he wanted was to be embarrassed like that. It would be so awful, he'd never be able to talk to Gilbert again.

He finished washing himself and got out of the shower, dressing in some of his nicer clothes, though everything he owned had a strong 'punk' vibe to it.

"Feli?" Romano called as he walked out and descended the stairs, "Have you eaten? You know you forget when you're excited."

"Oh," Feliciano shouted from somewhere in the house, Romano couldn't pin point where exactly. "No I haven't, I'm sorry I've just been so excited!" He appeared from one of the rooms, "He's going to be here in half an hour."

"Yeah and if you don't eat before then you're going to faint." He shook his head, "Feli…" he cleared his throat, "Maybe we should make some food for Ludwig and Gilbert when they get here?"

Feliciano gasped, his eyes widening, "Or we could order pizza!" he clasped his hand to his mouth, "I haven't had that in ages, please Lovi."

Romano frowned, "We have pizza in the fridge, we'll make that rather than ordering, that fast food stuff tastes gross."

The boy rolled his eyes. Romano couldn't understand the boy's obsession with eating food that wasn't properly prepared, they could afford nice food, why was it so hard to get him to eat it?

He walked into the kitchen, Feliciano following him. He took the pizza from the fridge and put it in the oven, looking over his shoulder at his brother standing in the doorframe.

"Um…" Feliciano said tentatively, "Me and Ludwig are gunna be in my room most of the day, is that ok..?"

Romano huffed and shook his head, "I don't know why you're asking me, it's what you did last time."

"Yeah but," he shifted on his feet, "I dunno Lovi… This is your house."

Romano huffed, "I don't care, ok Feli? Just don't be too loud this time, I don't wanna know about all the things you're doing to each other."

"That's not all we do Lovi," Feliciano whined, "We talk about our futures and stuff too."

"Just don't be too loud," Romano forced. "I don't care what you do. Just nothing illegal, and nothing loud."

"Whatever," Feliciano said with a soft huff, "I was just trying to be polite."

"No, you were trying to rub your relationship in my face."

"I wasn't!" Feliciano said, smiling softly.

Romano waved his arm dismissively, turning his back to the young man and busying himself with the pizza. He was trying to be accepting but it was difficult, it had been months but he still had trouble with accepting them, accepting himself.

It was best not to think about it, today was meant to be fun, he didn't want to ruin it, he knew how much Feliciano had been looking forward to this and how much Ludwig needed it… And Gilbert, he needed it too, Romano could tell. He'd often talk about how much Ludwig was looking forward to it and it was easy to tell that he was projecting.

Truth be told he was looking forward to it too, more than he should, he had no idea why but the thought of spending time with Gilbert made him… It made him excited, but not in a bad way, he just wanted to see him, to be with him, to hear his laugh without the distortion of the microphone.

He let out a small huff, frowning to himself at his own idiocy. He turned to look at his brother, his mouth open to begin talking, but he found he'd gone.

With a shake of his head he set the timer on the oven and walked out of the kitchen, he felt like he should do something with his hair, it usually laid pretty well by himself but he had such an urge to run a brush through it or something.

God he hated it, he hated feeling like this, he hated the anticipation in him that he knew would fade when he saw Gilbert next.

He bolted upright as he heard the doorbell, audibly gasping as he turned.

Feliciano screeched loudly as he tore down the stairs, "They're here!" he yelled as he opened the door. Romano could hear Feliciano and Ludwig reacquainting themselves, he walked into the hall to see them kissing and hugging, Gilbert watching them with an amused look on his face; their display blocking him from entering the house.

"Hi Lovi," Gilbert said, peering over the congealed mass that had once been their respective brothers. He cleared his throat awkwardly, "How're things?"

Romano nodded weakly, feeling himself blush a little, "Things are fine." He huffed and shook his head, "Break it the fuck up you two, let Gilbert in."

Feliciano and Ludwig broke apart, their faces red, Ludwig stuttered an apology before Feliciano pulled him away, leaving Romano and Gilbert standing awkwardly in the hall.

"Well that was something…" Gilbert said with a smile, chuckling weakly.

"Creepy, that's what it was, fucking creepy," Romano shook his head and huffed, gesturing towards the livingroom, "Come on, I got everything set up."

He was smiling, he couldn't get it off his face, how ridiculous was that? Gilbert had said what, 3 sentences to him? And already he felt so good, he felt so warm inside and happy, it was so weird, he didn't like it.

"Awesome," Gilbert said with a soft chuckle, patting Romano on the shoulder as he walked with him, "What do we have?"

Romano cleared his throat, trying to ignore the spark Gilbert's touch caused him. "Uh, everything really," he smirked, "We can play whatever you like."

Gilbert let out a weak laugh, "Everything? That sounds great. Wanna play Destiny?"

Romano nodded, "Yeah sure."

He watched Gilbert flop down on the sofa, smiling absently to himself as he watched him get comfortable.

"Wow you really do have everything don't you?" Gilbert said as he looked over his selection of game, "Tonight is going to be so amazing." He leaned forward on the sofa and picked a can of beer off the coffee table, snapping it open and taking a swig. He glanced up at Romano, patting the seat next to him, "Come sit down then."

Romano jolted slightly as Gil addressed him, frowning, "Oh uh," he glanced towards the kitchen, suddenly remembering the pizza he had cooking, "Actually I've got to get the pizza out. I'll just be a second."

Gilbert nodded, starting up the ps4 and glancing towards the door, letting out a soft sigh. He shook his head, he couldn't believe how stupid he felt, Lovino must think he was such an idiot, patting his shoulder like that, but he'd just had to touch him, it'd been ages since they'd seen each other, at the sight of him Gilbert's heart had flipped, he hadn't realised how much he'd missed him.

He selected their game and got to his feet, finding his way towards the kitchen, stopping in the doorframe and watching Romano cut the pizza.

"Is that chicken and sweetcorn?" Gil inquired, taking a few steps forward, "That's my favourite."

Romano looked up at him, glancing back at the pizza and nodding, "Yeah, it's mine too. It's really good."

Gilbert bit his lip, walking up to Romano and standing next to him, leaning over him a little to take a slice, swallowing hard as he tried not to brush against him when he pulled away, resisting the urge.

"Fuck," he whispered to himself as Romano moved beside him, knocking Gilbert's arm with his own.

Romano looked up at him, "What?" he asked, frowning.

"Oh uh," Gilbert shook his head, taking a bite of the hot pizza, chewing and swallowing before answering, giving himself time to think of something to say other than the truth. "I got a static shock," he forced a chuckle, "No big deal."

Romano glanced at the spot on his arm where they'd touched, "I didn't feel anything."

Gilbert chuckled, taking another slice of pizza and beginning to walk towards the door, "Lucky you."

Gilbert made his way into the livingroom, listening intently as Romano shouted up to Ludwig and Feliciano that their food was ready. He tried to focus on his pizza but found his eyes zipping up to Romano when he entered the room, a smile coming to his face.

"I got destiny up," he said as Romano sat down next to him, the man nodded, eating his pizza quietly.

He had such a quiet grace to him, the pizza broke off in such clean pieces in his mouth, when Gilbert ate crumbs fell everywhere, strings of pizza dribbled down his chin. How was Lovi able to be so graceful? What gave him the right?

Romano looked at him, a strange look on his face. "You're staring at me," he said, "Is here something on my face?"

Gilbert shook his head, "No, no."

"Ok, coz there's a lot on yours."

Gilbert blushed, lifting his hand to wipe his face, "O-oh, yeah I know, sorry. It's gross right?"

Romano chuckled, "It's fine, don't worry about it, Feli's worse."

Gilbert smiled weakly and finished his pizza, he picked up the controller and settled himself on the chair, taking his beer and downing a long swig, "Right, how do you wanna play?"

**Hope you enjoyed this slightly longer chapter, the next one is basically the second half of this one but I wanned to upload something before I went to work. Please leave a review**


	7. Chapter 7

**I hope this gives you a distraction from all the horrible stuff going on atm**

Gilbert let out a small groan as he felt himself wake up. He didn't open his eyes immediately, he was too warm and comfy, he wanted to stay asleep, he was wrapped in the softest duvet he'd ever felt and the bed itself felt like a cloud. He pulled Romano closer to him, nuzzling into him and letting out a soft hum.

Wait.

Romano?

His eyes burst open at the realisation, and sure enough the dark haired man was lying beside him sound asleep, hugging Gil's arm tightly.

'Oh my god' Gilbert mouthed, intent on not waking the smaller man, his brow furrowing in horror.

Had they slept together?

He remembered getting drunk, sharing lingering looks as they played their games, their drunkenness hindering their ability to play to the point where they stopped trying and decided to watch a film instead.

He remembered Lovino resting his head on his shoulder.

But nothing after that.

He slowly pulled the cover off himself, easing his arm out of Romano's tight grip, he frowned, finding himself in only his boxers. Surely if they'd had sex he'd be naked?

This was not how he'd wanted it to happen, if they were to have sex he'd want to at least remember it, and he didn't know if they'd used lube or a condom, though he doubted Romano had anything he didn't want to risk anything, infections could be disastrous, especially to someone like himself.

He cupped his mouth with his hand as he looked Romano up and down, shaking his head as he lifted himself out of the bed, "Oh god…" he whispered.

He let out a small huff and shook his head, closing his eyes for a moment as he thought to himself: What had happened had happened, he couldn't turn back the clock and change anything.

He'd talk to Romano when he woke up, but for now he wanted to let him sleep.

Gilbert always got up early, earlier than his brother, earlier than anyone he knew really.

He picked his clothes off the floor and re-dressed himself. He had brought a new set but Ludwig had taken their bag into Feliciano's room, he didn't plan on going in there with only his boxers on, and he didn't want to wake them this early.

Slowly he began to make his way to the kitchen, struggling to remember where everything was due to the small hangover-pang in his head.

He smiled as he found it and began to make himself some coffee, opening nearly all the cupboards and draws in order to find everything.

He leant against the kitchen counter and closed his eyes as the coffee machine whirred away.

Last night had been so nice…

He'd never felt so happy to be close to someone.

It'd been perfect.

He glanced up towards Romano's room.

He hoped things wouldn't change after last night, he hoped they could move past this and still stay friends, he knew Romano wasn't ready for a relationship, he had a lot of stuff to work out internally and as much as Gil wanted to help him jumping into a relationship wouldn't be a good idea.

The coffee was great, one of the advantages of having enough money to buy a proper machine. Gilbert took his cup, sipping sporadically and savouring every mouthful, and he walked into the livingroom, content to watch TV until the rest of the house woke up.

Gilbert began to grow restless as it neared 8 oclock. His old clothes felt grungy and he was getting hungry, he wasn't comfortable enough to make food for himself.

He got to his feet and went back upstairs, detouring to put his long empty coffee cup in the sink.

He chewed his lip as he reached Romano's room, knocking before opening the door before entering, marvelling for a moment at how lovely and clean it was, they must hire a cleaner or something.

"Lovino," he cooed, walking up to him and giving him a small nudge, "It's getting late you should wake up."

The older man moaned angrily, his face instantly turning to a frown, "Fuck off asshole I'm sleeping," he grumbled.

"We have to leave in two hours Lovi," Gilbert said, trying to sound firm even though he couldn't stop smiling at how cute Romano was when he was sleepy.

Romano groaned and squirmed, turning to look at him, pulling the covers up so he was fully covered.

"Did you sleep well?" he asked, picking the sleep out of his eyes, he smiled briefly, "Do you even remember? We got so drunk."

Gilbert blushed, "Uh… I don't remember anything after putting on the film, I don't even remember what film it was."

Romano chuckled softly and shook his head, "You're such an idiot."

"What actually happened?" Gilbert cut in, his voice a little louder than he meant it to be.

The man frowned softly, "Well… We decided the sofa was too uncomfortable for you to sleep on and we decided to sleep in my bed."

"And that was it?"

Romano frowned and nodded, "Yeah?"

"Oh…" Gilbert felt his face fall a little, "Good."

Lovino frowned, looking Gilbert up and down, "What's that meant to mean?"

Gilbert shook his head, "Nothing, nothing. Just I uh," he smiled widely, "I get a bit weird when I'm drunk sometimes, I wanted to make sure I didn't try to do anything dumb."

"Oh," Romano bit his lip, "Ok… Uh," he looked around, "I need to get changed, if you wouldn't mind."

Gilbert blushed and nodded, taking a step back, "Yeah, ok… I'll go and wake the kids and then get changed myself."

He backed out of the room, sighing to himself in relief, he closed his eyes and leaned against the wall, holding his hand to his face, covering his eyes.

It shouldn't feel this bad. He didn't want to have slept with Lovino, but being told they hadn't done anything… He didn't know what he felt, there was a strange pit in his stomach now that wasn't there before. Or maybe he was hungry? He hoped it was just that.

He let out a huff and began the short walk to Feliciano's room, knocking loudly on the door before opening it, recoiling slightly at what he feared he might see.

He couldn't help smiling at the cute scene infront of him; Ludwig and Feliciano laying together in the bed, Feliciano hugging Ludwig's side, nuzzling into him, Ludwig's head turned nuzzling back, the cover strewn over them.

"You two..?" Gilbert said quietly, "You have to get up, and I need my change of clothes."

Ludwig looked up at him sleepily, smiling to himself and pulling the cover further onto himself, his arm squeezing Feliciano softly. "The bag's just down there," he said quietly.

"I'll take what I need and go," Gilbert smiled, "I don't want to interrupt you two too much, but you do need to get up."

He unzipped the sports bag and pulled out some clean clothes, giving Lud and Feli a small nod before leaving. He made his way to the bathroom and pulled off his old clothes, giving himself a quick wash before changing.

By the time he left and went downstairs the entire house was up, Feliciano and Ludwig had migrated down to the livingroom and Romano was in the kitchen making their breakfast.

Gilbert found himself standing in the doorway again, smiling weakly as he watched the Italian man cook.

Romano looked round at him, "What are you looking at?" he asked, a hand on his hip.

"Nothing, I'm just watching you cook."

"Why..?"

Gilbert shrugged, "I don't know, I like watching you cook," he cocked his head a little, "It's kind of calming." He smiled, "You're very clean when you cook."

Romano blushed a little, glancing away, "Well," he chuckled a little, shaking his head, "I'm not usually, it's just because you're here."

"Are you trying to impress me?" Gilbert asked, taking a few steps into the room.

"What? No!"

"Well if you are, it's working."

Romano frowned at him, he shook his head and sighed, "Gilbert..."

He swallowed hard, closing his eyes for a moment, thinking of what to say. He wanted to say how lovely the previous night had been, how sleeping next to him had been the best night's sleep he'd ever had.

"You're my best friend, Gilbert," he ended up saying, immediately feeling his stomach clench; that must have sounded so stupid…

Gilbert smiled at him weakly, an almost sad look on his face. "Yeah? Good," he said, his smile widening after a moment, "That's what I want. You're my best friend too."

The German let out a small chuckle, shifting on his feet, "Last night was awkward wasn't it?"

Romano nodded quickly, his eyes widening a little. "Yeah… I don't want us to be awkward. I didn't really want you to sleep in my bed last night but I couldn't say no and it just happened."

"We were both drunk," Gilbert said firmly, "It's ok, accidents happen Lovi."

Romano bit his lip and nodded, clearing his throat before turning back to the eggs he was making, "Ok… We'll just act like it never happened then."

**please leave a review**


	8. Chapter 8

**This short chapter takes place directly after chapter 18 of Fame!.**

Gilbert frowned as he watched Ludwig walk off, swallowing the food he'd had in his mouth and looking over to Romano, "Uh," he said, stuttering slightly, "I should probably follow him."

He paused as he saw Feliciano follow his brother out, he bit his lip. Perhaps he should let them talk? This seemed like something they should sort out by themselves. He'd go out in a few minutes to see what was happening.

"Don't go," Romano said, frowning, "Let Feli talk to him first… I thought he knew, Gil…"

Gilbert nodded, "So did I," he shook his head, "Why wouldn't Feliciano tell him?"

"I don't know," Romano said, shaking his head in kind, "He usually tells everyone everything, you cant get him to shut up, I don't get it."

Gilbert sighed, closing his eyes, "Shit… I thought he was doing better, this isn't going to help…"

He began to walk towards the door to the stairwell, Romano following him.

"They love each other, right?" Gilbert said quietly, "They can get over this."

If Ludwig and Feliciano stopped seeing each other it'd be hard for Lovi and Gil to keep up their friendship, how could Gilbert continue talking to Romano when his brother was going through this? No, it'd be fine, they'd talk and everything would be ok, he was expecting the worst.

"You're making a big deal out of it, Feli didn't really do anything wrong."

Gilbert frowned, his voice raising slightly, "What do you mean he did nothing wrong? He told everyone Ludwig's got depression and he used it as a selling point without Ludwig's permission, how is that not wrong?"

"Don't fucking shout at me. It's not that bad, it's only one thing, it was just a slip up," Romano said equally as loud, some people near by lifting their heads to look over at them.

Gilbert grit his teeth, "Ludwig has been working so hard to hide this from everyone, he's getting bullied enough as it is, he doesn't need this too."

He huffed, shaking his head, he knew if he started an argument with Romano it would keep going, They'd had a nice weekend together and he didn't want to ruin it."…I'm not going to argue with you Lovi. I'm just worried about Ludwig. He doesn't need any more stress."

Romano nodded, his frown dropping, "Yeah I know," he huffed softly, "You've been a really good brother, if something like that happened to Feli I don't know if I could be that supportive."

Gilbert nodded, "Yeah, I hope you'll never have to."

He smiled as he heard footsteps coming up the stairs, walking to the edge and looking over, his smile dropping a little at the realisation that it was only Feliciano, and that he seemed to be crying.

"Where's Ludwig?" he asked, his voice taking a more serious tone, "Feli?"

Feliciano wiped his eyes, crying silently, "I-I… um…" he swallowed hard, looking up at Gil. "Ludw-wig said he wants to go home…"

Romano looked his brother up and down, shocked, "What happened?" he asked quietly, "What did that bastard say to upset you like this?"

"Umm…" Feliciano said, more tears pouring down his face, his voice cracking, "He said h-he… he doesn't want to see me ever again, I think we're broken up…"

The younger boy threw himself forward and pulled his brother into a hug, breaking out into full sobs, Romano speechless as his younger brother cried into his neck.

Gilbert swallowed hard, his stomach turning. "I should uh… I should go and find Ludwig."

Romano nodded wordlessly, watching as Gilbert left.

He felt his insides twist painfully as the man disappeared from view. H pushed his lost goodbye to the back of his head, turning instead to comfort his brother.

Gilbert's footsteps echoed as he trotted down the stairs, he'd known by the look on Ludwig's face that he was upset, that today was going to end badly, he'd hoped he was just being negative but it seemed...

He hoped he and Romano could stay friends, obviously he'd have to keep it lowkey until Ludwig got over this whole thing… He hoped he'd be ok.

He opened the door out and walked a little down the path, looking around for his brother. Perhaps he should have asked Feliciano where he'd gone.

"Ludwig?!" he shouted, walking further down the path, round the building.

His head jolted at the sound he heard, turning and walking towards it, "…Lud?" he said quietly as he approached him.

Ludwig looked up at him, tears falling down his face, he wiped his eyes quickly and started to get to his feet.

"Gilbert," he said quickly, his voice cracking a little. He forced a frown to his face, "I want to leave," he stated as firmly as he could."

"What about-" Gilbert cut himself off and nodded, "Ok, we'll go, I'll come back and pick up our stuff later. We'll find a hotel or something for tonight."

"No," Ludwig forced, "I want to go home Gilbert, please."

Gil bit his lip, nodding again, "Ok… Ok Lud, come on." He took the boy gently by the arm and began to lead him towards the car, his stomach tensing again, this time at the prospect of a 10 hour drive.

He let out a sigh as Ludwig got into the car, his face falling. He pulled out his phone and texted Romano.

'Ludwig wants to go home, I dunno when I can pick our stuff up.'

He got into the driver seat, glancing over at his brother as he belted himself in. "So what's happened?"

Ludwig shook his head, "I don't want to talk about it," he grumbled, turning to look out the window.

Gilbert nodded, swallowing hard and starting the car, beginning to drive off. "… So are you two broken up..?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it," Ludwig snapped.

"Ok... I'll drop it then."

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	9. Chapter 9

**Another kinda short chapter sorry xD**

_'I put your stuff in the bottom of my wardrobe'_

Gilbert looked down at his phone, trying to hide the screen from his brother as the two prepared to get out of the car.

'Took you long enough'

_'Shut the fuck up it's been an hour and I'm trying to comfort my brother you asshole.'_

Gilbert bit his lip, Lovi had told him how dramatic Feliciano got when he was upset, he didn't even want to think about what was happening right now.

'Has he said anything about what happened?'

_'No, has Ludwig?'_

Gilbert and Ludwig walked into the service station, Ludwig walked off to pick out his food and finally Gilbert was able to focus on his phone, having spent 3 hours hiding it.

'No, he wont talk about it, I've never seen him this upset.'

Ludwig had spent most of their drive so far staring out the window, seeming to be moments from tears. It was awful to see him like this, it was so out of character for him.

He clutched his phone, his stomach twisting again, he felt so sick, the destress of this made him feel physically ill.

Maybe it'd only be for a few days..? Ludwig would calm down and forgive Feli, and everything would go back to normal?

"You picked what you want?" Gilbert asked with a forced smile as his brother walked up to him, stowing his phone in his pocket.

Romano let out a soft huff as he looked down at his phone, Gilbert hadn't replied in over 20 minutes so he assumed he was on the road again.

He looked up at his brother, the boy playing listlessly with his food.

"Feli, eat your food."

Feliciano looked up at him, blinking rapidly, he looked back down at his food and forced himself to take a bite, he swallowed and pushed the plate away from him, shaking his head.

"I can't Lovi, I feel… I don't know."

Romano looked down at his own food, realising he'd eaten less than Feliciano had. He bit his lip. "Me too."

Feliciano let out a slow breath, wiping his eyes.

"Lovi…" he shook his head, "I feel so bad. I'm the worst person in the world…"

Romano bit his lip, resisting the anger that was slowly forming in him and trying to be supportive. "You're not, Feli, you…" he huffed, closing his eyes for a moment, "You did something stupid but that doesn't mean you're a bad person. Ludwig will probably calm down in a few days and you can talk about it."

"It wasn't meant to be stupid," Feliciano whined, "I was trying to be nice."

"Yeah and I'm sure Ludwig will realise that and he'll forgive you, he knows you wouldn't do anything to be horrible on purpose."

Feliciano looked up at Romano, "…Does Gilbert think so too."

"What do you mean?"

"I know you've been texting him, you get a happy look on your face whenever you look at your phone."

Romano's heart sank a little, he averted his eyes. "He does think that Ludwig's overreacting… But he does think that what you did was bad."

"Do you think it was bad..?" Feliciano asked weakly.

"I…" Romano sighed softly, looking back up at Feliciano, "I think you should have asked Ludwig before you did anything, the only reason I supported it was because I thought you'd told him."

"I'm sorry," Feliciano said, his voice cracking, the noise making Romano's gut tense painfully. "I was just trying to be nice."

"I know," Romano replied firmly, "And Ludwig will realise that eventually and everything will be fine."

"You sure..?"

Romano paused, he didn't want to tell him no, he knew what Ludwig was going through and he knew how stubborn he was, Gilbert had told him all about him.

"Yes Feli, I'm sure," he finally said, "It might take some time but he will."

'Feli finally talked to me'

Romano sat on the sofa, glancing at the spot where Gilbert had been only hours ago. Feliciano had gone up to bed early, the emotional strain had stretched him too far. Now Lovi sat on the sofa alone, thinking about how Gilbert was meant to still be here with him, they hadn't turned off the PS4 when they'd left because they were meant to be back playing it now.

_'Ludwig still wont talk to me'_

Romano swallowed hard, he hated that he'd lied to his brother, told him everything would be ok when it wasn't. Romano had never been so worried. Gilbert kept saying he'd never seen Ludwig like this. He had no idea what was going to happen.

'Feliciano feels terrible about what he did.'

_'He did a really shitty thing.'_

Romano frowned. 'I don't want to take sides over this. Feli did a shitty thing and Ludwig overreacted.'

_'I'm not taking sides, I'm just saying he did a shitty thing that's why he feels bad._'

He sighed to himself, huddling on the sofa. 'The PS4's still on' he sent after a minute, not wanting to talk about the days events any more.

_'Why? Save it and turn it off.'_

Romano blinked quickly, 'I don't want to,' he sent back, biting his lip at how stupid and vulnerable he felt saying that.

Gilbert didn't reply for a few minutes, Romano kept telling himself it was because he was dealing with Ludwig, but pat of him couldn't help thinking it was because of what he'd said.

_'We're still friends'_ Gilbert eventually replied. '_Lovino you're my best friend, I'll do everything I can to keep you in my life.'_

Romano felt himself welling up, happy now that Gilbert wasn't here.

'Good. You're fucking annoying sometimes but I don't want to stop talking to you.'

He stared down at the text before sending it. He had the strongest urge to add 'I love you' on the end. He shook his head and sent it without the addition, cursing himself for being so stupid.

_'I know'_ Gilbert replied.

Romano kept his eyes locked on his phone, letting out a deep sigh, he couldn't think of anything else to say. The conversation had taken a toll on both of them he could tell, and god now he just wanted to cry.

'_Ludwig's gone to bed_,' Gilbert said after a minute.

'Feliciano has too' Romano replied.

'_Do you wanna play something?'_

'Sure.'

It wouldn't help much, but it was good enough.

**Hope you enjoyed please leave a review ^^**


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